Skies on Fire: Inject the Venom
by Landiana
Summary: Sequel to Skies on Fire: Evil Walks. Crossover with Veronica Mars. Now that Veronica and Chloe have found the Winchesters, it's a fight against time to discover how Logan Mars has managed to return from the grave, why there are mysterious symbols on dead and why bodies of high profile victims are missing. Demonic activity abounds as the mismatched team try to figure it all out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_Previously on Skies on Fire: Evil Walks_

"_Thank you very much, little girl," the gravelly voice sounded behind her. Mia spun around as the man grabbed her throat and brought her close to his face. "You and your friends have been most helpful!"_

_He pulled her lips to his, his superior brute strength winning over hers as Chloe cried out for Oliver. She felt so helpless. The body holding Mia suddenly slumped to the ground as Oliver slammed through the door, arrow already ready to fire in the bow. Mia stumbled away from the body on the floor, towards Oliver. _

_Veronica lowered her phone from her ear and placed it on the coffee table. 6 months to visit her dad and investigate the Winchester case. Plenty of time._

"_It says here that a large quantity of sulphur was found in Mia's bloodstream, as well as in the skin cells Emil tested. She is showing irrational behaviour, unusual headaches and memory loss. What's wrong with her Oliver?"_

"_Vampires." One word. Matter of fact. And it turned Veronica's world upside down._

"_Vampires." Veronica snorted. "And I guess Buffy was unavailable?"_

"_Do you recognise any of the markings on the body?"_

"_I've never seen symbols like this before, but I'd take a bet and say that it's old Enochian."_

"_How the hell do I get hold of an angel?" Scepticism still coloured her voice._

"_Your best bet would be to find one of the Winchester brothers. Word is they know some angels who can translate the symbols."_

"_Okay, I need to see your friend to be sure. If she is possessed we need to perform an exorcism." Sam's tone was grim, but Chloe felt a surge of hope arise in her._

"_You'll help?"_

"_Yes, I'll help."_

"_So far 8 people have been murdered, all from different states, different backgrounds, in the same way. Each died from blood loss after having similar symbols, perverted Enochian symbols carved into their bodies. No traces of an attacker have been found at the murder sites."_

"_Victim 1: Gordon Yaxley. 27. Sherriff in Delaware Ohio." After mentioning each victim she tacked up the paper including their photographs._

"_Victim 2: Fredrick Goyle. 30. DA in Chicago."_

"_Victim 3: Darren Dohring. 23. Intern in the Governor of California's office."_

"_Victim 4: Oliver Wood. 19. Prominent NFL player. His body is still in the FBI morgue, or was when I was last there."_

"_Victim 5: David Thorman. 24. Son of Billionaire Graeme Thorman, heavily involved in his father's company."_

"_Victim 6: Jacob Keynes. 45. Minority member of the United states Senate."_

"_Victim 7: Logan Mars. 25. Charitable contributor and son of film stars." Veronica managed to say through the lump in her throat. She didn't need to look at the photos. She knew his face intimately, and could not scrub the image of his dead body from her head. She tacked up the last piece of paper._

"_And finally victim 8: Christopher Norris. 36. Works in the office of a representative in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The second body which remains in the morgue."_

_Mia laughed in the unusually deep voice that sent chills down Chloe's_ _spine._

"_You really don't know how much bigger than me this all is!"_

_Chloe meanwhile surprised herself by collapsing into Sam's arms. He pulled her close into him and sat down slowly onto the floor. He stroked her head slowly as she started crying._

_He continued to stroke her hair as she cried. "Mia's okay now, Chloe."_

"_Samuel Winchester you better answer your god damn phone! Jo happened to just tell me that you're not dead! Thanks for letting me know that bro. You're a true angel! I'm in Metropolis. You better call me back, because you don't want me to be any more pissed than I am already!" Dean snarled into Sam's ear. Sam took a deep breath and turned to Chloe._

"_We have just been informed that Logan Mars has just been found alive!" The newscaster said excitedly. A short clip of film was showed. Logan was ushered from a car and escorted across to an unmarked building. Veronica's face dropped in surprise. The others in the room turned to her wordlessly._

"_That's not my husband," Veronica said emotionlessly. "I saw his body. I know that it was not a doppelganger."_

"_Are you sure?" Chloe said softly._

"_It may look like him, but Logan is dead. We need to find out what the fuck is going on," Veronica said firmly._

"_Let's get to work," Oliver said as the group stood up in unison._

"_Veronica Mars and Chloe Sullivan?" a male voice asked, scaring Veronica and Chloe, as they had not heard anyone come into the room, and had not been warned by Watchtower. They turned to see a tall dark haired, attractive man in a suit and a trench coat standing in the middle of Watchtower. Chloe grasped a gun from a draw in the desk in front of her, while Veronica pulled hers from the holster she was carrying on her waist. They both held the guns up facing the man, who made no indication that they had startled him, or that he feared them shooting. _

"_I am Castiel," the man said stiffly. "Dean asked me to assist you."_

"_So how can you help us Castiel?" Veronica asked bluntly._

"_I am an angel of the lord. I can read your enochian symbols."_

Chloe and Veronica looked at each other for a moment, both keeping their guns trained on him. The two women stood up and took a few steps to get into more convenient positions. It didn't escape Veronica's notice that the two of them worked very well together, automatically taking cues from each other's body language. It had taken her team at the FBI months to really get to that point.

"And how do we know that you are an angel, and not a demon?" Veronica asked aggressively as she reached for her cell phone with her free hand. Castiel looked at her nonplussed and looked her in the eye.

"You are right to be cautious Mrs Mars," He said calmly. "This place is not protected as it should be. However, I am not here to hurt you, I am here to aid you in your mission."

Veronica merely raised an eyebrow and flipped her phone open to choose Dean's name on the call list.

"Well, you won't mind staying exactly where you are until we confirm who you are then, will you?" Veronica replied and pressed the call button, lifting the phone to her ear.

"Winchester," Dean said gruffly into the phone.

"Dean, its Veronica. There's someone here, claiming to be your contact," she said cautiously, aware that the phones weren't in any way secure.

"Cass is there?" Dean asked. Veronica could hear the surprise in his voice. "Sam and I will be back up in a minute."

He cut the call off, and Veronica looked at her cell phone for a long moment, frustrated at the hunter.

"Dean is on his way up," she told Chloe whose gun arm didn't waver as she nodded. Castiel remained standing stiffly, unconcerned by the two blonde's weapons pointed at him.

"Samuel Winchester and Dean Winchester entering Watchtower," The artificial voice said from the speaker hidden in the ceiling of Watchtower. Sam and Dean walked into the room casually, and were both shocked to see the two blonde women holding guns pointed at Castiel. Dean couldn't help a chuckle. He knew that Veronica was a pistol, but the girl who Sammy had picked up seemed to be a firecracker as well. The two women would definitely keep all of them, Queen included, on their toes, that was certain.

"It's okay, ladies, that's definitely Cass," Dean said as he looked the angel up and down. Veronica and Chloe both lowered their weapons slowly, Veronica returning hers to its holster, while Chloe put hers back in the draw it had come from, but neither lost their suspicious facial expressions or stances. The two Winchesters both crossed the room to stand by each of the women, Sam putting his hand on Chloe's shoulder. Veronica could feel the anger emanating from the man stood beside her. The room stood in awkward silence for a few long moments before Dean suddenly burst out with speech.

"Hey Cass, how have you been? I've been fan-fucking-tastic, thanks for asking. Thanks for returning all of my calls, you're such a good friend! Oh, thanks for letting me know my brother isn't dead." Veronica could hear the anger in his voice.

"Dean," Castiel began to say, attempting to placate the angry hunter.

"No, Cass, you don't get to justify this. Where the hell did you go?"

"I was dealing with a civil war in heaven, I apologize that it took up all of my attention, but your concerns really aren't of consequence compared to angelic war!" Castiel burst out, losing his nonplussed demeanour for the first time. Veronica was shocked by the vehemence of the angel's words, and Dean seemed taken aback.

"Cass, I didn't mean..." he tailed off.

"I know you didn't mean anything Dean. It has been a trying time for all of us. What is the big problem that you have now?" Castiel said with a long suffering look. Veronica fought the urge to laugh. Clearly this angel was wishing that he had been assigned someone else up in heaven, or however it was that he ended up with the Winchester brothers.

"Cass, you make it sound like we cry wolf all the time," Sam said with a smile. "I think we call you with things which are pretty darn important."

"Yes I know, apocalypse after apocalypse that you two can't help but involve yourselves with. There are days when I wonder what would have happened if a different angel had pulled you out of hell Dean. I'm sure things would be much simpler for me."

"But you'd miss out on our company," Dean said with a roguish grin.

"Dean, don't you think we should introduce our companions?" Sam asked from his vantage point next to Chloe.

"Of course. Cass, this is Veronica Mars…" Dean began before he was interrupted by the angel.

"I know who these women are," Castiel said. "We have long monitored the actions of Chloe Sullivan and her group of heroes, in case we ever needed to intervene. And Miss Mars is infamous in certain circles."

"I'm sorry, but why?" Veronica asked a little indignantly.

"You don't court as much danger as you do Miss Mars without attracting the attention of celestial forces. And every time an angel of the lord would prepare to intervene in your life because they felt that you were a warrior of the forces of good who would be sorely missed in the future something would happen – you would get out of the situation on your own, or with a little human help. Angels became interested in how far through life you'd get with your lax attitude to personal danger without any help."

"I don't mind the sound of that actually," Veronica said thoughtfully. "Infamous for being able to get out of things."

"That you got yourself into by courting danger," Dean reminded her.

"Details," Veronica waved her hand in a dismissive motion.

"Wait, a minute, where's Queen?" Dean asked as the group sat down on the seats dotted around the main screen, all save Castiel who simply leant against a counter.

"He went to talk to some of the members of our team. We've been having some issues with Luthorcorp, and he got a call when you left about a new facility in Smallville." Chloe said, her brow furrowing slightly. She was clearly concerned about something, and Sam felt a slight pang at the thought that it could be concern for Oliver. He squashed the feeling that he had no right to have, and put his hand on her shoulder. Chloe smiled at him slightly.

"What's bothering you?" he said quietly.

"The demon which possessed Mia was found trapped in one of Lex Luthor's facilities. I don't think that that could possibly be a coincidence. I'm trying to figure out the connections between everything. At the moment it just seems so disconnected to the people who are dead." She said with a frown.

"And there we return full circle to our first problem – how to find out what is happening with these people," Veronica said calmly. The group turned towards Castiel, as if they were waiting for some kind of input from the angel. When none was forthcoming Dean sighed.

"Cass, do you know what the hell is going on?" he asked as he collapsed back into the sofa, tiredness etched into his face. It had been a long day for the hunter, and an even longer couple of weeks, coming from investigating a faux haunting in Mississippi (which turned out to be your garden variety murderer) to this case in DC and the rushed 19 hour journey to Metropolis to catch up with Sam, which he had driven nonstop the whole way.

Castiel looked troubled at Dean's question.

"I have not heard anything about this new threat, and that is worrying. I believe the angels are so troubled with their own concerns as they try to attain higher rank that they have forgotten our greatest task is to love and protect the human race. We have all been wearing blinders," he said remorsefully. "I have been no better than my brothers in this regard."

"So what you're saying is that you know jack about anything," Veronica said angrily looking towards the angel. Dean placed a hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her down, while Castiel merely looked confused.

"Who is Jack?" Castiel asked her.

"English idiom Cass, it means that you don't know anything about this," Sam said quietly. Understanding brightened Castiel's face, and he nodded sagely.

"That is true, Veronica. I have been remiss in my duties."

"Can you look at the symbols we have to determine anything?" Chloe asked. Until this point she had remained mostly silent, watching the group and trying to understand what was going on underneath the surface. Veronica's issue was very clear – she had lost her husband in the most vicious way and now there was someone walking around wearing his face. That was enough to put anyone on edge, and Chloe seriously doubted that she could have been any more composed had that been Jimmy who had just appeared on the television. But there was something indistinguishable about the two Winchesters and their interactions. Since he and Dean had come back from wherever they had gone to call Castiel, Sam had been even more reserved than before. In the few days since the exorcism he had started to open up to her, laughing a little more freely, talking without being prompted. Now it was as if he had gone back to the angry lonely man who had shouted at Jo in the roadhouse. Chloe had her suspicions that there was something far deeper between these two brothers, but was content to observe for the moment. She didn't come to be Watchtower and mother hen for a mostly male organisation without learning when was best to let them sort things out on their own, and when to resolve issues herself.

"It would do no good. Rituals like I suspect this one is do not merely exist on the skin. The symbols are carved deep into the bones, and the very soul of the individual. The only way that I would be able to discern what they represent would be to see the body in person." Castiel told Chloe calmly.

"Well then zip us the hell over to one of the bodies, and hey presto, we have a reading," Dean commented. Castiel shook his head stiffly, his face conflicted.

"There has been some... trouble in heaven, civil war notwithstanding. Someone has managed to limit our abilities to move about without being detected. Every time that I use my powers to transport myself, Raphael comes closer and closer to finding me, and you know why he feels strongly about revenging himself upon me," Castiel said, nodding to the two Winchesters. Dean let out a short laugh of remembrance.

"Why is an arch angel after you?" Chloe asked. The males in the room looked to her in surprise, and she shrugged. "I'm Catholic. Did my years of Sunday school."

"We trapped his ass in a circle of holy oil and refused to let him out until he gave us the answers that we needed," Dean said smiling nostalgically. "Good times."

"And what required you to trap an arch angel exactly?" Veronica asked with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't want to go to the effort of googleing it?"

"Lucifer," Sam stated shortly, ending that thread of conversation there. His voice brooked no arguments.

"So," Veronica said a little awkwardly. "How are we going to get Castiel to these bodies?"

"I could ask Ollie for the Queen Industries jet," Chloe volunteered. Dean shook his head fervently.

"No way in hell am I getting on a plane!"

"Scared of aeroplanes?" Veronica teased.

"Planes crash, damnit! Why does no one understand this?"

"Guess that leaves driving then," Sam interjected. Dean groaned.

"Son of a bitch. A freaking road trip with an FBI agent, a masked superhero, a socially awkward angel and my 'dead' little brother. What a freaking wonderful idea that is."

"You forgot to mention that we have to deal with cassettes of mullet rock and your winning personality," Sam added. Dean simply sank further into the couch while the others laugh.

"That's it Sammy. You can sit in the back and be squashed, Sasquatch."

Dean did follow through on his threat and made Sam sit in the back of the Impala with the two women. Oliver had arrived back to Watchtower about an hour after the team had sketched out a tentative plan, and the three men had left to replenish their supplies. He had offered them the use of a roomier car, but after a phone consultation with Dean, where he had vehemently rejected the proposal, Veronica and Chloe reluctantly let go of any hope of a comfortable ride to Washington DC. Veronica had commented that he seemed abnormally attached to his car, to which Dean had only replied "My baby has seen me through some tough shit, k Mars?" Veronica had left it there, and resigned herself to a long journey sat in the back with Chloe and Sam.

"Come on Dean! Let me sit up in the front already. You've proved your point okay?" Sam grumbled as they stopped to get gas and something to eat on their way to DC. Dean had decided when they set out that they would drive straight there, all 19 hours of the journey, and had stipulated that Sam would be able to drive his car for a four hour stint in the middle of the journey, when he would sleep. At this point they were two hours into the journey. For some reason Dean had decided that Castiel needed far more leg room that his brother did, and as a consequence had moved the front passenger seat back as far as it would go. Sam had demanded and pleaded with Cass for the first hour of the journey, but the angel either feigned deafness, or had blocked them all out completely, so Sam had fallen silent. Chloe and Veronica immersed themselves in research and tried to ignore the grumpy interaction between the two brothers. When Sam had asked Dean to turn the music down, Dean merely turned it up. If Sam wanted a window opened Dean demanded it be closed so he could concentrate on driving. It had got to the point where Chloe had demanded a rest break immediately, her tone of voice broking no dissent.

"That is it!" Chloe hissed as she shuffled across the back seat to leave through Veronica's side door. Everyone else had left the car and were scattered around it, Cass leaning awkwardly on one side of the hood, while Veronica perched on the other, waiting for the fireworks. "I've had enough of this bitching and moaning. Come over here now!"

The two Winchesters were startled by Chloe's frustration and automatically did what she demanded. She took hold of one ear of each brother and pulled them down violently to her level. Castiel looked on with mild interest, whilst Veronica smiled. The two of them had gotten on her last nerve.

"Now listen up. Both Veronica and I are fed up of your juvenile attitude and are not going to deal with it anymore." Chloe said in a very calm, quiet, deadly kind of voice, which affected the brothers more than any shouting would have done. "I don't care what kind of messed up crap you two have going on. We all have to deal with each other, and so you will deal with your issues, or you will be civil. Sam, stop with the moaning. Dean let Sam sit in the front, and do not go out of your way to annoy him, or so help me I will make it so you can't pee without needing professional help! Understood?"

The two men nodded, and Chloe released their ears, patting them both on the side of the face in turn. She walked silently over to Veronica, who nodded her thanks, and the two women walked into the rest stop to get some food. The Winchesters stood looking at each other dumbfounded for a few moments. Then Dean chuckled.

"Damn, Sammy, you found yourself a fire cracker there!" Dean chortled.

"Shut up Dean!" Sam blushed. Dean was surprised by the vehemence of his brother's reaction.

"Shit, Sammy, what is going on with the two of you then?"

"I helped her save her friend, and now she's helping us. That's it! Besides, she and Queen have a thing going on." Sam said firmly, and then started to stride towards the door. Dean chuckled a little more as he pulled his jacket on and followed his brother inside.

"Whatever you say little bro." Dean whistled, and motioned for Cass to come with them all.

"Are we going to book into a hotel when we get into the city?" Chloe asked, rubbing her eyes as they continued to drive. Sam had just finished his stint of driving, driving for six hours instead of four because Dean had slept on and no one wanted to interrupt him when he had to drive for six more hours once he awoke. Of course, the fuss he caused when he eventually had woken up on his own terms and seen the time had woken the two girls, who had somehow ended up falling asleep on Castiel, while the angel sat awkwardly in the middle seat. Veronica had not been best pleased to say the least. A lot of cursing about Dean and his lack of consideration had ensued, shocking both Winchester brothers with the complexity and vehemence of her tirade.

"Me and Dean usually stay in motels, but that would be awkward trying to arrange rooms and keep everything we needed to do the research in one place." Sam said, twisting slightly in his seat, his face showing clearly that he hadn't considered anything like this before.

"I would offer you all the wonderful accommodation at my house, but unfortunately we don't know if fake Logan will be home," Veronica said with a wry grin, finally calm again. Before she had gone to sleep she had been contemplating the emergence of Logan's doppelganger, and had come to the conclusion that while the person may wear his face, it was not her husband. She would be strong, and would not break down. She would have plenty of time for her grief when Logan's killer was long gone. He would not want her to be any other way.

_The two of them lay side by side in bed, a light bed sheet covering up to their chests. It was late into their last year of Hearst, and Veronica had just finished dealing with a very messy case involving a missing husband, who was threatening his wife if she didn't give him her inheritance, and agree to a divorce, with all their joint assets going to him. The wife had hired Veronica to find where her husband was, and to prove infidelity, and a violation of their prenup. Since her dad had become sheriff again, due to Vinnie Van Lowe's terrible performance in office (He was arrested by his own officers for taking bribes from anyone rich enough to pay for convictions to go away) Veronica had been handling the Mars Investigations workload as well as doing her college course. While her father hadn't completely approved of Veronica working any case that fell into her lap, so to speak, he recognised that he could hardly force her not to, and instead asked that she kept him up to date on any and all cases. In this particular case the missing husband had noticed that Veronica was more than just the maid service, and had held her at gunpoint while he demanded the inheritance money. Keith had been able to calm the man long enough for him to let go, and arrested him. It had sent Veronica running to Logan, once more, and they fell back into the very old pattern they had established long ago._

_Logan brushed Veronica's hair from her face, his face serious._

"_When I saw the news my heart almost stopped. I don't know what I'd do without you Veronica Mars," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion._

"_I don't know what I'd do without you either Logan," Veronica whispered after a long moment of silence._

"_You'd be strong, and wouldn't stop until you got the bastard that killed me, Veronica. You'd keep going, because you are a survivor," he said seriously, shifting his weight onto his one arm, as he looked down on her._

"_Logan..." Veronica started. She looked at him for a moment, then summoned all of her courage. "I love you. I know that I'm not good with emotions, and I know I don't tell you enough, but I love you, and I need you in my life."_

"_I love you, too, Veronica. I need you, too," He said as he leant down to kiss her._

"Veronica?" Chloe's voice broke Veronica out of her haze of remembrance. The car was idling at traffic lights, and everyone in it was looking back at her, concerned.

"Huh? What?" Veronica asked, confused.

"Chloe said that Queen is going to get us a suite at a hotel, so that we can all be in the same place," Dean interjected.

"Okay. Which Hotel?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Dean looked up at the Hilton Hotel Chloe had directed him to and whistled appreciatively. He poked his brother in the shoulder and grinned.

"Seems like we're moving on up in the world Sammy," he commented as they pulled to a stop outside the valet service.

"I think the company we now keep is pulling us up out of the gutter," Sam said lightly. "Don't think I'll miss the gutter."

"Dude, don't rag on the gutter! The gutter has been good to us over the years," Dean exclaimed as he exited the car. Chloe turned to Veronica and smiled.

"Why does it feel like we're babysitting two little boys and a tetchy old uncle," she asked quietly.

"Because from the looks of it we are," Veronica commented as the two women also exited the car along with Castiel. She was more than a little amused as Dean reluctantly gave his keys to the valet, his eye promising worse than death if he returned and his baby was so much as scratched in any way. Veronica idly wondered if he had a mental catalogue of all of the nicks and dents on the car, so he would know exactly if something had happened to his beloved car. She caught up to his side as they followed the rest of the group into the room and nudged him slightly.

"I think you should get that checked out," she commented as they approached the check in desk.

"What?" he asked distractedly, noting all of the exits to the building as they walked into the main lobby.

"There are five exits to this room. The one hidden behind the check in desk leads to the fitness suite, with several fire exits along the corridor and in the fitness suite itself. The closest on the left leads to the reception rooms and then onto the main ballroom. On the right is the restaurant which members of the public can use if they want to pay exorbitant prices, it's not exclusive to hotel customers. The furthest doors lead to elevators or stairs to the rooms the hotel offers, and there is a separate lift through a further set of doors which you need a code to activate to get into the penthouse suite. Key card entry into each of the rooms, and the fitness suite, and each of our party will be provided with a key so that we are able to move around the hotel freely. There is CCTV up everywhere, but has mysteriously gone down for maintenance today, although none of the other hotel customers know that," Veronica whispered to Dean as they passed a security guard. "And you should get your fixation with your car checked by a specialist. I'm sure they'd have a lot of things to tell you about transference of commitment issues."

Dean looked at her for a second, an eyebrow raised.

"What, you think me and Chloe did nothing but sleep on the whole ride here?" Veronica said playfully. "What little opinions you have of us."

Veronica turned her attention to Chloe who had smoothed out her pencil skirt and was quickly approaching the welcome desk. The check in woman pasted a smile on her face.

"Welcome to the Hilton Hotel, how may I help you?"

"Oliver Queen called," Chloe said briskly. "He ordered the penthouse suite for Chloe Sullivan and her associates."

"Let me just check for a reservation," the girl said, clicking laboriously on her computer. "I don't see a booking under the name Sullivan."

"That would be because Mr. Queen called an hour ago. The manager assured him that the penthouse suite was free for our use," Chloe raised an eyebrow and pulled herself up to her full height. Veronica noticed then that Chloe had replaced the flat utilitarian ballet pumps she had been wearing for travelling for a pair of killer high heels. With the black pencil skirt, green blouse and black suit jacket she cut a very impressive figure, and the check in girl was clearly out of her depth, although she didn't know it yet.

"I'm very sorry Miss Sullivan," the girl began, emphasising the Miss, before Chloe interrupted.

"Call your manager now, Helena. I don't have time for you to waste. My associates and I need to be in a conference call with Mr Queen in exactly fifteen minutes."

The girl swallowed, and pressed a button on her phone. A few seconds later a manager appeared from the office behind the check in desk, and did a double take when he saw Chloe. Veronica felt that there was something very familiar about this man, although he was nondescript in almost every single way, save for his unfortunately large nose.

"Miss Sullivan, how nice to see you again!" he exclaimed, attempting jovial and failing dismally. "Helena, why didn't you tell me such a valued guest was here?" He admonished the receptionist.

"Helena here seems to be under the impression that I need a booking, Mr. Gregory," Chloe sniffed slightly at the affront. The manager looked horrified at the girl's actions.

"I can only apologise for her actions Miss Sullivan. If there is anything I can do for you to make up for the slight, please let me know. I see that your fiancé is not here with you?" He walked around the desk and presented his arm to Chloe, while Dean and Sam looked at each other, entirely confused by the whole proceedings. _Fiance? _Sam's brain questioned as he automatically moved out of the way of the manager and Chloe.

"Oliver wasn't able to make it for start of the business conference on the wider global implications of ethical trade and consumerism, so myself and my associates are here in his stead. He is travelling down later in the jet. Business, you understand how it is." The manager laughed, a little falsely.

"Of course my dear, of course." The manager was taken aback when he saw Veronica, standing slightly behind Dean. "Mrs Echolls? Why what are you doing here."

Veronica realised in an instant where she knew Gregory from. He had been the manager at a different Hilton Hotel when he had last seen her, one in LA she and Logan had stayed in briefly for a charity event. She took in a breath and smiled at the man.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Gregory. I'm here representing Mr. Echolls' interests at the conference."

"May I offer my congratulations on the return of your husband? I was so relieved when I saw him on the news," the manager said sycophantically.

"We all were, Mr. Gregory. Unfortunately he was unable to make it to the conference because of all of this nasty business, so I am standing in for him," she stated as she fell into step beside Chloe and Gregory. They walked through a set of double doors Gregory opened with a key card, and Chloe pressed the elevator call button. Dean bumped into Veronica as they came to the sudden halt outside the doors.

"I don't need help you know," he pouted as they got into the elevator. Veronica turned to him in askance. "I'm not obsessed with my car, or any of that transference shit you said."

Veronica couldn't help but burst out laughing at the affront on Dean's face.

Gregory insisted on showing the group all around the penthouse suite that Oliver had acquired for them, and told the group no less than seven times that he was available should they need anything from him before Chloe and Veronica were able to convince him that they would be able to manage on their own from there on out, assuring him that if there was anything that they needed they would most certainly call him. Both women collapsed onto one of the big sofas that formed the centre piece of the central room in the suite, looking at the blank television while the rest of the men stood awkwardly around the room.

"I hate doing the CEO's ball busting fiancé," Chloe sighed as she turned to Veronica.

"Well it was convincing at least. No-one will question what a rag tag group like us are doing here with that sort of entrance," Veronica said as she slipped her shoes off and pulled her legs underneath her body. "But yes, the sycophantic behaviour does get old, doesn't it."

"Wouldn't really know," Dean snorted from his place by the French doors which lead out onto their own private balcony. "Why was that dude referring to you as Mrs Echolls? I thought it was Mars."

"When we got married Logan took the name Mars as his legal name, but in social circles he was generally referred to as Echolls, because of who his parents were. It's a complicated issue, that I don't want to get into right now," Veronica said in a monotone voice.

"What's so complicated about it all?" Dean pushed, attempting to spark some kind of reaction in her. Veronica was about to respond when the dulcet tones of Poets of the Fall began playing from the front pocket of her bag. She leant down and pulled her phone out of her bag, flipping it open. She dropped it when she saw the caller ID. Dean was at her side immediately.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly. Veronica motioned to the phone, her face a blank mask. The screen on the phone contained a picture of her and Logan, arms around each other, and the caller ID read:

**Logan (mobile) is calling**

Dean reached to press the reject button, but Veronica shook her head.

"We need to know what's going on," she said quietly, motioning for him to hand her the phone. Dean pressed a button instead and put the phone on load speaker.

"Hello?"

"Who the hell is this?" Logan's voice spat out of the phone angrily. "And why the hell are you answering my wife's phone."

Veronica's stomach dropped out of her body when she heard his voice. That snarl transported her right back to Neptune High, just after Lily death. The old Logan, who hated her guts. She took a deep breath, pulling herself together and grabbed a pad of paper. She wrote a note to Dean: _say you're David, an old friend of Wallace's who lives in DC with his girlfriend Ella._

"Man, its David, I know Wallace from school," Dean lied with enviable ease. "Veronica's just staying with me and Ella at the moment."

"Why are you answering her phone," Logan demanded.

"She's just gone to bed, she's not feeling too good," Dean said. The rest of the group were staring at the phone in a mix of suspicion and confusion, save for Castiel, who once again, just looked bored, if a little concerned about the turn of events.

"I want to talk to her," Logan demanded again, forcefully.

"Look, man, I don't mean to be a douche." Veronica had to stifle a snort at that. She was pretty sure he was enjoying every minute of the conversation. "But she's had a rough couple of weeks, okay. I'll get her to call you when she's ready."

"I want to see her!" The words exploded out of the phone's speaker, making everyone jump back a little.

"You can see her when she's ready," Dean insisted.

"I don't like her being there with you. She should be at home."

"She's not just here with me. Girlfriend named Ella, ringing any bells?" Dean said, his tone emphasising his incredulity at Logan's demands.

"Let me talk to her." The words were sharp.

"Look, I've already said, Veronica isn't..."

"Ella, you idiot," Logan cut in. "I want to talk to your girlfriend."

"Let me just get her," Dean groaned, and then shouted. "Hey Ella!" he paused. "Yeah darlin', phone for you."

He motioned to Chloe to talk into the phone, and she did so, her voice surprisingly chipper.

"Hello?"

"Keep your boyfriend away from my wife. And tell her I want her to come home." There was no love or longing in Logan's voice, only anger.

"Of course! I'll tell her in the morning! Good night!" She reached across and pressed the end call button before Logan could speak again. It seemed like everyone in the room took a deep breath in as the call ended. Veronica rose and walked silently into the bathroom, the door locking decisively behind her. The rest of the group stared at the closed door for a long moment before looking at each other warily.

"Right, here's what we're going to do right now," Dean said, authority infusing his voice. "Chloe, Sam, the two of you are going to interview the doppelganger to see if he lets anything slip. Don't show that you know Veronica and definitely do not engage with him. We need to know what we're dealing with. Me, Cass and Veronica will stay here and try to figure out a plan of action as to how the hell we're going to break into the Hoover building when I'm supposed to be dead and Veronica is meant to be on vacation. Everybody understand?" The group nodded, everyone glossing over the fact that Veronica hadn't voiced an opinion on the plan. Dean tossed the car slip stub to Sam, while Chloe slipped her high heels back on her feet, and her ballet flats into her handbag. She looked Sam up and down for a second and then threw a hand in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"You need to clean up," she stated finally.

"What's wrong with me?" Sam asked confusedly.

"This goes for all of you gentlemen. Remember what pretences you are here under. Anytime you are in the hotel, leave the hotel, come back to the hotel you need to be in a suit. We are meant to be in a conference call with Ollie at this minute, and no one in the corporate world would wear plaid." Dean snorted. "Or a leather jacket to a call like that," Chloe continued as Dean scowled at Sam. "I assume you both have suits?"

The two men nodded like chastised schoolboys and both shuffled towards different bedrooms, carrying their bags with them.

Veronica closed the door behind herself and slid slowly down it, until she was resting on the tastefully tiled floor. Idly she noticed that the bathroom included not only a shower, separate bath, toilet, and sink, but also a hot tub. And this was one of three bathrooms in their suite in total, and each bedroom had its own sink. She felt it was a little bit like overkill. She reached up and turned the lock, before resting her head back on the door. She let go of the tears she had been holding in all day. And her body was wracked with silent sobs.

_Veronica had been at the office all day, working on the ritualistic murder cases and was looking forward to seeing her husband for some much needed distraction. They had made no advancements in the cases, and one of the bodies had gone missing – the body of Jacob Keynes had gone missing from the morgue in Detroit. She was scheduled to travel there the next day, so she wanted to get home to a long bath, some quality time with Logan and sleep. She was distracted by the buzzing of her phone in her pocket and fished it out. _

_**Logan (mobile) is calling**_

_Was indicated on the dial, along with a picture of her and him poking their tongues out at the camera. She smiled and answered the call._

"_Well hello there."_

"_Veronica," Logan's voiced sounded faint through the phone. "I need help."_

"_What is it Logan," Veronica asked worriedly. The phone cut off. She tried to reconnect the call and when that didn't work she pulled her laptop out and rested it on her knees. She brought up the right programme and activated the GPS chip in his phone. It indicated that he was in a parking lot a few blocks away from her. She set the car to drive and set off in the direction of the phone._

_A few minutes later she parked and pulled her gun from her bag. She looked around herself to see that there was one car left in the empty parking lot, so she slid out of the car and made her way over to it. As she got closer she realised that it was Logan's car. As she moved around the car she saw the body lying next to it._

_Logan._

_He was laid out on his back, his arms pressed to his side. He was naked, angry open wounds everywhere on his body. Blood covered the ground. Only his beautiful face was left unmarked. His eyes were open, looking glassily up at the sky._

_Veronica fell to her knees next to the mutilated body of her husband and screamed out. Tears streamed down her face. Her hands came to rest on his face._

"_Logan, please wake up. Please," she sobbed._

Veronica sat in the bathroom and continued to cry for her dead husband. She knew that he was dead. But this imposter had her hoping that somehow she could have been wrong, that Logan was still with her. It was all that she wanted.

Chloe and Sam sat in uncomfortable silence in the car as they drove towards Veronica's house. Chloe wasn't quite sure what had turned her companion so taciturn, but any attempts to start a conversation with him had been rebuffed, with snorts and head shakes.

"That's it!" She exclaimed, and Sam turned towards her in surprise. "What the hell is wrong?"

"You didn't tell me that you were engaged to Queen," he said shortly as he returned his attention to the road.

"What?" Chloe asked, confused.

"You and the hotel manager referred to Queen as your fiancé. You said he was a colleague."

"Look, Sam, I love Ollie, but as my best friend. However, in the eyes of the media, and for anyone who isn't involved in the JLA we are engaged. It was the only feasible story we could come up with to explain why an unemployed former journalist was so often in the company of the billionaire businessman. In our line of work we have to spend a lot of time dealing with the Luthors and all their associates, and I needed to be able to access their circle without tipping them off to Oliver's identity. Lex knows that I was involved in a lot of business to do with meta's, and this cover story keeps Oliver off his radar as someone who could be involved in the JLA," she explained hurriedly. For some reason she had no desire for Sam to believe their cover story, although by all accounts it should not have mattered to her either way.

"Why didn't you tell me that when we dealt with the demon?" Sam asked, his face losing some of its rigidity as he turned towards her.

"Because I don't even register that it's a cover most of the time any more. It has to be as natural as breathing for the two of us if anyone is ever going to believe anything we present to the media," she felt a little reprimanded, by the tone of Sam's voice.

"Do you have something going on with Queen," Sam asked bluntly.

"No. Not now." Chloe's face closed down. "And I'd rather not talk about this any longer."

They sat awkwardly in silence for the rest of the journey.

Dean knocked cautiously on the bathroom door, unsure of what exactly would be Veronica's response. He certainly wasn't expecting her to open the door, a frown on her face as she raised an eyebrow in askance. She seemed to be very well put together, considering what had just happened. Her face was clean and showed no evidence of tears. Still, Dean could tell that there was something wrong in the forced way that she was moving – she was pulling herself together because she did not want to be vulnerable in any way in front of anyone, and he understood her mentality completely. After all, wasn't he the poster child for showing no emotions despite a fucked up past?

"Are you ready to head to the FBI building to case it out?" He asked her, glossing over the half hour that she had spent in the bathroom. In that time he had cleaned up and put on his best 'FBI' suit, and had even convinced Cass to change into a new suit, although his customary brown trench coat remained firmly on the angel's shoulders.

"Let me change into something a bit more official, then we'll discuss plans." Veronica said as she breezed out of the room. She grabbed hold of her handbag and walked into one of the unused bedrooms – Dean noted that she hadn't even gone near any of the others that had been claimed. She turned back as she got to the doorway.

"You clean up well Winchester," she noted. Dean preened slightly and pursed his lips at her.

"Sweetheart, I always look this good."

"Who knew that there was a semi attractive man underneath all those layers of dirt," she said as a parting shot. Dean pouted to himself.

"I'll have you know many people have described me as god like!" he shouted to her. Her only response was a light laugh.

"Semi attractive," he muttered to himself. "Devil woman."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Chloe smoothed down the front of her skirt and then knocked forcefully on the door in front of her, Sam standing silently by her side. When Logan answered the door she was shocked by the differences in his demeanour compared to what she had seen of him previously in videos and interviews. He was wearing a light grey three piece suit which was expertly tailored, a crisp white shirt and a deep red tie, every inch the business man and charity contributor. But there was something strange about his face, something that Chloe couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was the slight twist of his mouth, or the hard eyes, but something gave his face a sinister cast to it, one which she had never seen in images of him before.

"Can I help you," he asked expectantly, his nose slightly turned up at the pair of them. Chloe cleared her throat and pulled out the false credentials she had manufactured before they left Watchtower, just in case, and saw Sam do the same out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm Agent Watkins and this is my partner Agent Delaney," Sam said quietly as he looked Logan up and down. "We're here as temporary protection detail until the fixed team arrives. May we come in?"

"By all means," Logan said with a flamboyant arm motion. They walked into the hallway and the first thing that Chloe noticed were the pictures of Logan and Veronica. They were everywhere, on the walls, mantel pieces, every available surface. There were other people in some of them, some of which Chloe recognised from her covert research on the couple. Veronica's dad was in a fair few, as well as a pretty black woman who Chloe assumed was Veronica's step mother. One particular photo struck her the most. Veronica was on Logan's back as he stood in the middle of a field, surrounded by their group of friends. The woman who Chloe knew as Cindy Casablanca's, the internet billionaire sat with her husband of a year, Dick, and radio DJ Stosh Piznarski was stood beside Logan, pulling on a tall beautiful blonde's arm, while Wallace Fennel looked on laughing. They all looked so happy, and Chloe could see a light in Veronica's eyes which she had not seen before. The loss of her husband had clearly hit Veronica hard.

"If you'd like to come into the lounge, Agent Delaney," Logan said from the doorway. He still wore his genial expression, but Chloe noticed a hardness in his eyes. He was clearly in no mood for dissent, although he was hiding it very well. Sam was already sat down on one of the sofa's and looked up at Chloe in askance.

"We were wondering if we could get a few details from you," Chloe said as she sat and smoothed down her skirt.

"I told the FBI everything I know," Logan said, his face betraying a little confusion, the first honest emotion Chloe had seen on his face.

"We know Mr. Mars, and we've seen the report, but we'd like to get the information straight from you if that's alright? If you don't want to rehash these painful memories we completely understand," Sam said as he pulled a notepad from his pocket.

"No, I want to help in any way I can." The smile was back again.

"Do you have any idea of where you were taken?" Chloe asked first, trying to establish a starting point for their questioning.

"Unfortunately no," Logan looked suitably chagrined, Chloe noted, as if he felt like in not remembering he was responsible for something, but the expression didn't extend full into his eyes. He was lying.

"Did your captor's give any clues to what happened, or their plans," Sam asked as he jotted in his note pad.

"From what I could discern from my captors they had a person surgically reconstructed to look like me, before they killed them and put them in my place, so that no one would be looking for a kidnapping victim. Then they stole the body from the morgue so that routine tests wouldn't expose it as fake."

"Do you have any idea what they wanted," Chloe asked him softly, as if she was indeed dealing with a traumatised witness. Logan chucked at the question.

"I did give all this information to the people who debriefed me in the first place," he challenged.

"We just want to get the information completely clear, so that we can reasonably plan for your protection, and the best way to do that is to get the information straight from you, not from a second hand source," Chloe lied smoothly as she reached out a hand to rest it on Logan's arm. He flinched away slightly, before visibly relaxing into her touch.

"I understand. Of course. They wanted any financial details I could give them. They knew that my wife and I shared all of our accounts, so they wouldn't be frozen in the event of my death," Logan leaned into Chloe slightly, and took in a deep breath. "I'm afraid to say that I gave them everything they wanted."

He closed his eyes and took in another deep breath. When his eyes opened again, all pretences of geniality were gone. His pupils had expanded, the irises completely covered in black.

"Where is my wife!" he snarled as he pulled Chloe forcefully to her feet.

"I'm sorry?" Chloe said, a little thrown by his change in demeanour.

"You've been with Veronica," Logan snarled as he backed Chloe towards the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, what?" Chloe asked confusedly as she looked a little worriedly at Sam over Logan's shoulder. Logan threw his glass against the fireplace and grabbed hold of Chloe's shoulders tightly, leaving bruises.

"You're wearing her perfume," he hissed as he bought his head near to her throat and sniffed. "Where is my wife?"

Sam took hold of Logan's shoulder, the taller man having to use a surprising amount of force in order to move the man away from Chloe. Logan spun round and looked up into Sam's face, grimacing as he did so.

"I suggest you stay away from my partner." Sam said, his voice deadly quiet. Logan seemed to realise what he had just done as he stepped back and smoothed out his suit. His voice became genial once more.

"Apologies, you must be wearing the same perfume that my wife frequently uses. She's staying with friends at the moment, you know, because of the stress, and I miss her dreadfully," he ended the sentence with a grin which looked so out of place on his face as he sat back down on the sofa.

Chloe nodded slowly and moved to Sam's side, skirting alongside the sofa so that she was as far away from Logan as possible. Her phone buzzed at that moment, and Chloe picked it up. She had set an alarm earlier which was linked up to a sensor in the car which would let them know when the real FBI turned up. She answered it and made a few noises of assent, each a few moments apart before turning to the two men in the room.

"Well, thank you for answering our questions Mr. Echolls. Your protection detail is here now," Chloe smiled with false cheer as they walked back to the doorway of the room.

"Let me know if there are any developments in the case," Logan insisted from where he sat down on the sofa. "And if there is anything that I can do to catch the people who did this to me and stop it from happening to anyone else, then don't hesitate to ask." Again the eerie smile remained on his face as he watched them leave the house.

Chloe found that she couldn't stop herself from shaking as they got into the car, so much so that she couldn't buckle up her seatbelt on her own. Sam took hold of her quivering hands in one of his hands, and nudged her chin up with the other.

"You did great in there Chloe. We know a lot about this Logan Mars now that we didn't know before," He said quietly to her as his intense stare locked with her eyes. She shook her head.

"We learnt a lot about the thing who is impersonating, or possessing Logan Mars," she said as she took hold of Sam's hand. "I've seen Logan Mars before now, and he was nothing like that thing. If I didn't know better I'd say that he had multiple personality disorder, or extreme paranoid schizophrenia. Nobody who is stable can flick between emotions so consciously like that. He let himself indulge his paranoid side in demanding to know what I knew about Veronica, but he reigned himself in and put back on the body language of a genial host, neither of which are typical traits of a person who has just been kidnapped and tortured. Did you see the scars on his arm when his sleeve rode up?" She asked Sam as her rational side took over and she stopped shaking. Sam nodded.

"We need to get back to the hotel and let the guys know what has happened," he said as he reluctantly let go of Chloe and put the car into drive. Chloe could feel then that the earlier coldness between them had evaporated, at least for the moment, although she had no doubt that the subject of their argument would not stay buried forever.

Veronica walked slowly out of the hotel room door and was met with a heartily appreciative wolf whistle from Dean. She looked down at herself and shrugged. She was wearing a tight fitting grey pencil skirt which rested just above her knees and deep blue shirt which sloped down into a V at her chest, showing a little cleavage. She had put more make up on than normal, doing up her eyes and lips, and tousled her hair so it curled a little wildly around her face. She had finished the look with a pair of black peep toe stiletto heels.

"What the hell was that for, Winchester?" she grumbled as she picked up her bag from where it stood next to the sofa.

"You look hot," he said bluntly from where he lounged on the sofa. "Why?"

"Did you just ask me why I looked attractive?" Veronica asked as she raised an eyebrow and began to head for the door. Dean scrambled to his feet and followed after her, while Castiel followed the two of them nonplussed.

"No. Well, yes, but no. You know what I mean," Dean appeared a little flustered as he stared at Veronica's back and ass. He shook his head to clear it, and continued. "Why are you dressed up?"

"We're going into a building full of people who have been trained to investigate and kill without any compunction. We need to fit in, and if I can distract some of the guards, or throw off some of the male officers it would help us a great deal. By the way, there are still more men in the FBI despite all that is said about equal opportunities. It's a boys club, and I know how to work it the way I want," She said as she pulled the key card out of the slot by the door, turning off the lights as she did so.

"So you always went to work like that?" Dean asked feigning innocence.

"No, I went to work in the most business like pant suits I owned, because I wanted to be listened to, not drooled at." She said, matter of fact, ignoring Dean's leer. "Now let's get going"

A few minutes later they were sat in the car together, and Veronica found herself thinking of what had brought her to this point, where she had to figure out how to break into her place of work without arousing any suspicions in a building full of naturally suspicious FBI agents. She knew a lot of it had to do with her handling of Logan's case.

"_What do you mean his body is missing?" Veronica asked, her voice deceptively quiet. The intern looked a little nervous as he looked up at the FBI agent. "It was brought here in preparation for an autopsy. It should be in your morgue."_

"_We have no records of the body of Logan Mars being transported into the county morgue. When no body turned up we assumed that the FBI had requisitioned it for its own autopsy." The intern tapped a few buttons on his computer nervously, trying to avoid Veronica's eye line._

"_You mean to say that my husband's body is missing?" Veronica hissed. The boy swallowed and nodded his head._

"_It's not here, at least." He stuttered. "Records show that the body was due for delivery to the morgue on Tuesday at 8, ready for the autopsy the next day. There are no records of someone delivering it, or signing for it."_

"_I was in the coroners van when they brought it here," Veronica interrupted, picking up the intern's name tag from his chest. "So I suggest you check the records again, Daniel."_

_Daniel turned the computer towards Veronica, having refreshed the page concerning the delivery of Logan Mars' body. There was a blank space where the time of delivery and signatory should have been. Veronica turned her back on the intern as she pulled out her phone._

"_Mac, I need a favour. How soon can you get to the county coroners office?"_

_Despite having been part of the FBI for several years, Veronica still didn't quite trust the computer techs who were supposed to do all of this sort of work for her. Knowing what Mac had been capable of with a computer at seventeen didn't exactly inspire confidence in her when faced with fresh faced college graduates with degrees in computer science. Any job she could she called in Mac as an outside consultant for anything involving computers. By her reckoning, a good hacker was worth ten university grads. Of course, Mac was hardly just a computer hacker now. She ran a very lucrative online security business which specialised in how to protect yourself from hackers, which she had set up with the financial backing of Dick Casablancas, of all people._

"_What do you need, Veronica?" Mac asked as she walked through to the reception of the county morgue._

"_Can you find out if the entry on a computer database has been changed in any way?" _

_Mac raised her eyebrows, as if to say, really? You want me to dignify that with a response?_

_Veronica grinned a little and indicated the computer that the intern was sitting very nervously behind._

"_It's definitely been tampered with. I won't bore you with the details of how I found out, but suffice to say I could testify in court that Logan Mars' body was delivered here when it was meant to. The record was changed earlier today," Mac looked up at Veronica apprehensively. The look on Veronica's face indicated her mingled anger and determination to find out what had happened._

"_What do you mean leave it alone?" Veronica said indignantly as she followed behind David. "Mac has evidence that Logan's body went missing at the morgue, and you want me to leave it alone?"_

"_Mars you collected that evidence in a way that is inadmissible in court. Anything that comes about from it will automatically be considered suspect. I'm beginning to think that I should take you off this case, because you aren't thinking straight," he said as he turned towards her and handed her the case file she had given him earlier. He looked down on Veronica, ever diminutive even with the added height of four inch heels, and smiled softly._

"_No," Veronica said before he could say anything else. "My record will tell you that I will carry on investigating this myself, with or without your blessing. So do you want to harness my energy and drive to catch this sick son of a bitch or am I going to have to go about it my own way?"_

_David looked pensive for a moment._

"_I'll leave you on the case for now," he finally said._

"Is everything okay?" Dean asked as he looked at Veronica's glazed expression. To him she looked immeasurably sad, and he wanted to be able to do something in order to take that expression off her face for good. She seemed to come to at that point and smiled at him slightly.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. Dean drove towards the Hoover building, taking in everything around them. He could see from that distance that the door was key card coded, and there were guards everywhere.

"They clearly take security very seriously around here," he commented conversationally as he pulled the car into a parking bay at the National Archives and Records which was a little up the road from the Hoover building, before cutting the engine. "So, what's the plan?"

"You mean you didn't come up with something while I was changing? I'm shocked," Veronica said deadpan. "Or are all of your plans made on the fly?"

Cass and Dean looked at each other a little shamefaced, before shrugging at the same time.

"Our plans never seem to work out," Castiel said thoughtfully.

"I think we decided that going for things on the fly was the best option somewhere along the way," Dean completed as he turned to look at Veronica in the backseat. She sighed in exasperation, and Dean grinned.

"You know when you sigh like that…" He tailed off. She wacked his shoulder.

"Enough of that vulgarity young man! Here's what we're going to do…"

Veronica walked confidently up to the front door of the FBI building, swiping her key card on the door to activate the automatic locking doors. She pulled on the handle of the door to open it slightly when she heard a shout after her. She turned around for a moment to see Dean and Castiel jogging behind her both carrying multiple boxes, their hands clearly full.

"Can you hold the door for us please ma'am," he said as he got closer. He smiled his most charming smile. "Only these evidence boxes are really full at the moment and I'd rather not put them down to get my badge out."

"Yeah sure," she said distractedly as she stood in front of the door, holding it open. The two men walked in, nodding their thanks as they did so. She walked in after them. A man in blue security uniform approached them as soon as the door was closed, standing in front of the metal detectors. He pushed his thick rimmed glasses up on his nose as he surveyed the group.

"Hi Kenny," Veronica said cheerily as she stepped forward to go through the metal detector, pulling her gun from its holder and placing her hand bag within the plastic tray.

"Hello Veronica," he said warmly, then schooled his impression. "You know the rules, no tailgating into the door. People need a key card or need to be buzzed in by the desk."

"Sorry Kenny," She said smiling at him as she tilted her hair slightly to the side. "I've been a little bit ditzy recently."

She watched as Kenny's gaze drifted down to her chest and legs, before he realised himself and straightened up. He coughed and smiled back at her.

"I'll let it go this time. Now, what are you gents here for?" he asked Dean and Cass.

"We're from the Metropolis field office," Dean said as he shifted a box in his hands to pull his wallet out. "Agent Thomas and Agent Willis."

He flashed the new credentials that Chloe had created from them, and motioned for Cass to do the same. He did so, then Kenny pulled out a handheld computer, typing the names into it. Veronica stood, relaxed in the knowledge that they had already covered this base. In the words of Chloe _"Hacking into the FBI central database? Hard? Try hacking an alien super computer. Now that's hard." _Kenny nodded as Dean and Cass's faces turned up on his computer as approved.

"What are you guys doing here in DC then?" Kenny asked conversationally. Veronica wasn't fooled by his relaxed manner. She knew exactly how capable Kenny was. As an ex-Army sniper and former FBI agent he had been the ideal choice for security when he decided that he wanted to have a little quiet time after a few serious cases. One in particular, a serial child killer had gotten to him so personally he had to be taken off active duty. Any false move and Dean and Castiel would be in handcuffs before they could say Bon Jovi. That was part of why she had dressed up, knowing that Kenny had a weakness for petite blondes – both his first and second wives could have been body doubles for her.

"Bringing some evidence from the murder case in Metropolis for lab analysis. Agent in charge has a stick up his ass, decided that he wouldn't trust anyone there, and that he wouldn't trust a courier service. Therefore we are being treated like messenger bitches," Dean said in a very put upon voice. Kenny nodded sympathetically.

"I know what you mean man. Some of those agents are stuck so far up their own asses, that they'll never see the sun again, because they're big agents in the central office of the FBI," he paused for a moment before smiling at Veronica. "Present company excluded."

Veronica simpered a little at the comment, jubilant inside that he seemed to have taken the bait.

"Hey man, can you direct us to the main lab?" Dean asked as Kenny motioned Veronica through the metal detector as he moved behind his thermal imaging screen.

"I can take you there if you want," Veronica volunteered on the other side as she picked up her belongings. "What I need to do can wait a few minutes."

Dean looked sceptical as he placed his boxes on the conveyer belt to go through the x ray, before removing his wallet, keys and gun and placing each of them in the plastic tray. Kenny motioned for him to walk through.

"You'd be in safe hands with Veronica," Kenny said conversationally again. He was testing Dean, to see what he'd say about his favourite agent.

"Alright then, we'd be delighted to be escorted by you ma'am," Dean smiled as Cass went through the metal detector, both picking up their boxes.

"All clear," Kenny said as he stepped out of his booth on their side, carrying two passes. "Here's two visitors passes."

The two men pinned the badges to their jackets with a little difficulty, before nodding their thanks.

"Bye Kenny," Veronica said perkily waving to him. He grinned and looked her up and down once more, before watching her walk away.

"Laying it on a little thick, weren't you?" Dean hissed, his lips barely moving. Veronica continued to smile and hissed back to him.

"I know Kenny. He's a sucker for a small blonde woman. I played him perfectly."

They followed the corridor down, before reaching a lift. Veronica scanned her badge and pressed the call button, indicating that she wanted to go down. The lift dinged a few moments later and they got in, Veronica swiped her badge again and the number panel lit up. She pressed basement which housed both the labs and the morgue, for ease of transportation of crucial evidence between the two departments. They passed their time in the lift in silence, knowing that there were multiple cameras focused very closely on them in order to lip read anything they said. The elevator dinged to say that they were on the correct floor, and Veronica scanned her badge to get the doors to open.

They walked out onto the level and turned right, into the doors to the morgue. Veronica waved at one of the lab tech's through the door, and he pressed a button to open the morgue doors. He waved them through the door, smiling at Veronica as he did so. He did a double take when she walked through the door, his mouth dropping open slightly as he saw what she was wearing. Dean appraised him critically. He was wearing deep blue medical scrubs complete with blue shoe covers and white rubber gloves. His face was slightly obscured by thick black rimmed glasses, and his deep black hair fell limply on his forehead. His pallid appearance gave the impression of some sort of creature of the night. A gremlin, he decided whimsically. The man walked up to them and stuck his hand out to Veronica. She gave hers to him, and endured a very vigorous handshake, which lasted a little too long for comfort. Veronica gently removed her hand from his grasp and simpered slightly.

"What's with all the swooning?" Dean asked Cass out of the side of his mouth, not really expecting a response. Cass however took the question quite literally.

"I think she intends to appeal to the male sense of authority and protectiveness, due to her diminutive stature and attractive form, in order to put them off balance and easier to manipulate," Cass informed him quietly, his lips not moving a millimetre apart from each other. Dean couldn't help but grin at the angel's response. Clearly Cass was learning a little about people, albeit in a rather distanced manner. He quickly schooled his expression and pasted on a serious face as Veronica began talking to the lab tech.

"Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to help us," Veronica said, biting the side of her lip slightly. The lab tech's eyes were drawn to her lips, and he swallowed visibly.

"Ssssure," he stuttered a little. "What do you need?"

"My friends here need to look at a body to see if there are any similarities with a body which is yet to be transported here. It would help us so much if you would find it for us," she tilted her head to the side and rested her hand on his arm. "Please?"

"Of course." The lab tech was utterly drawn in by her. "What body do you need to see?"

"Oliver Wood," Dean supplied. The lab tech's face fell.

"I don't know, his body is under strict clearance rules. I'd have to check with the chief ME."

Veronica held onto his arm tighter, pressing her chest against his arm.

"Please, it could be our little secret. You and me could have a little talk over here, and if my friends just happen to see the body then nothing will happen. They will promise to not touch it," Veronica looked up at him and bit her lip again.

"Well, if it's just a look," he faltered a little as Veronica pressed a little closer to him. He indicated the doors to the right of him on the wall. "The bodies are through that door. They should be alphabetical."

Veronica giggled and pulled him away from the doors.

"Is there somewhere more private we can go?" She hinted.

"There's an office…" the lab tech offered hesitantly.

"Excellent! Lead the way," she grabbed hold of his hand as she motioned behind her back at the two men to be quick.

Dean and Cass took the hint and walked quickly through the doors. They dumped their boxes in a corner and went to the refrigeration unit, scanning for the right name tag.

"Here he is," Dean said as he pulled the door open. He pulled the body out of the unit, and motioned to Cass. Castiel pulled the covering sheet down to the man's chest to show the cravings into his skin. He placed a hand above the body and the room was flooded with white light.

When the night cleared Dean looked at Cass to see a very concerned look on the angel's face.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"We must leave now," Cass said in a tone which brooked no objections. They put the body away and walked back out of the room. They found Veronica in an office with the lab tech, sat on the edge of a desk as he gestured something wildly. Dean nodded his head towards the door, through the window and Veronica nodded. She said something to the lab tech, pressing a kiss against his cheek as she jumped down from the desk. The lab tech looked dumbfounded as he watched her leave.

"I'm definitely going to need several showers after that." Veronica shuddered as they walked out of the room to huddle in a cubby hole beside the morgue. "What did you find out?"

"It is a ritual designed to maintain the body for a demonic soul to be rehoused in it after death." Cass stated.

"What, any demonic soul?" Veronica asked.

"No. The ritual is very specific. The markings indicate that as soon as a soul has tortured multiple souls in hell then it will be recalled to the body. The demon will be able to use the body as if they were still alive, with the added demonic benefits of endurance and survival of physical injury. Only the original soul can be returned to the body."

"So you're saying every person who has 'come back' is a demonic version of themselves?" Veronica asked concern in her voice.

"That is precisely what I am saying," Castiel said emotionlessly. Veronica's face fell as she processed exactly what that meant. Then she was distracted by a very familiar face walking down the corridor towards them.

"That's my boss, David," Veronica whispered to them in a curious tone of voice. "If he sees me here, we're made!"

"Cass zap us out of here," Dean said urgently. Castiel shook his head.

"I can't Dean, it's too dangerous," he said some semblance of anxiety entering his whisper.

"As dangerous as being arrested and having to zap out of prison?" Dean countered. "Just take us up to the entrance, and we can leave the way we came in.

Castiel nodded, and the trio appeared by the door to the building, hidden from the sight of any cameras. They walked out confidently, if a little shaky on Veronica's part, nodded to Kenny and left the building. They walked down the street to where the car was parked. Veronica looked like she had just started to process what they had found out, her face ashen. Dean took hold of her elbow and she made no motion to indicate that she had noticed anything.

"You feelin' sick?" he asked. Veronica shook her head. "Riding with Cass can disorientate you a bit."

Veronica just shook her head again and followed the two men to the car.

She said nothing for the rest of the journey, her face falling even more with every passing minute. Dean simmered in his anger and didn't notice as tears began to fall silently down her face washing away her elaborate make up. He grew angrier as they travelled.

"Fucking demons. Motherfucker!" He hissed as he drove.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Mother fucking demons! It's always with the fucking demons and the devil and attempting to take over the fucking world," Dean shouted as he threw open the door to the hotel room. Sam perked up from where he sat on the sofa as his face fell. Chloe ran in from one of the bedrooms in response to the bang, only to visibly relax when she saw who it was.

"Lucifer?" Sam asked quietly to Dean. Chloe sat down on the sofa beside Sam and unconsciously rested a hand on his shoulder. He relaxed a little into her touch.

"Dean is being overdramatic," Castiel said as he entered the room and lent awkwardly against the wall.

"No Cass, I'm not. I'm being fucking rational in this case. Demons are torturing people and sending them to hell and bringing them back in their own fucking bodies so that they can do god knows what, which probably has to do with Lucifer and his cage, because that's what all the hip demons are into these days!" Dean ran a hand through his hair, and punched a wall angrily. Everyone jumped and looked startled at Dean. It was then that Chloe noticed that Veronica had walked into the room behind Castiel, looking stricken. Her face was covered in tear tracks, her previously immaculate makeup had been washed away and she had scraped all of her hair all away from her face. Chloe stood up and walked quickly over to Veronica taking hold of her hands.

"Veronica, sweetie?" Chloe said quietly as she bent to look Veronica straight in the eyes. "Veronica?"

"She's been like that since we left the FBI building," Dean grunted as he wiped some of the blood from his knuckles and winced.

"And you did nothing?" Chloe asked a little angrily as she lead Veronica to a sofa and encouraged her to sit down.

"I was a little distracted by the revelation about the fucking demons," Dean said as he grabbed a towel off the side and wrapped it around his hand. Chloe put an arm around Veronica's shoulders and pulled her closer. Veronica seemed to come too slowly as her eyes lost the glazed look. Tears started to pool in her eyes again. She whispered something that Chloe couldn't hear so she leant in closer.

"It's actually him," she repeated a little louder. "That thing is actually Logan. My husband is now a demon."

She began to sob.

Sam and Dean sat together on the sofa side by side as they tried to take in all that had happened that day. Veronica and Chloe had been called down to the front desk by the overzealous manager, so Veronica had washed her face, put on her best acting face and had gone downstairs with Chloe.

Castiel walked back into the room.

"Raphael has caught onto my trail. I must leave for a little while before he comes here and finds you," Castiel said calmly.

"Won't he find us anyway?" Sam said concerned.

"The marks on your bones are still working. No Angel can find you unless you tell them where you are."

"What about the girls?" Dean asked. Castiel threw a couple of talismans at him stone faced.

"These should do much the same thing for them."

"Why couldn't we have them?" Dean asked as Castiel disappeared. "Great."

"At least he warned us before disappearing," Sam pointed out. Dean sat back on the sofa, sighing.

"I'm such a jackass," he said.

"We all knew that," Sam said jokingly. When Dean didn't rise to the challenge he turned towards his brother. "What's up man?"

"I was so busy being angry at the fucking demons that I didn't even think about what this would mean for Veronica. I just let her sit there crying in silence."

"You can't beat yourself up about it. You were preoccupied and it's understandable considering our past," Sam said seriously.

"I still should have thought about her."

"Dean, has anyone ever told you that you take everything upon yourself?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You," Dean said shortly.

"You can't keep up like this. That's why I got you to promise to live the apple pie life with Lisa and Ben."

"Is that why you didn't tell me you were back?" Dean said hollowly.

"Yes," Sam's face dropped.

"Do you have any idea what I went through thinking that you were in that cage with the frigging Devil?" Dean's anger was returning, and Sam laid a placating hand on Dean's arm.

"I came by to talk to you one night, to say I was back. I got as far as the front porch. Then I saw you and them sat at the table eating dinner. You looked happy. I didn't want to ruin that. I knew as soon as I came in, you'd be back on the road with me, wanting to protect me."

"You should have given me the choice Sam."

"Can you honestly say that staying would have even passed through your mind?" Sam asked pointedly. Dean looked a little shamefaced. "I wanted you to be happy."

"Fat lot of good that did," Dean muttered.

"What happened?" Sam asked gently.

"I kept having nightmares, and started hunting on the weekends to relive the stress. Lisa said that I had to stop, or leave. So I left."

"I didn't know," Sam said slowly. "I missed you, Dean."

"Missed you too, little brother," Dean smiled slightly. "Even if you are a little bitch."

"Jerk," was all Sam said in reply.

Veronica and Chloe walked across the reception together in silence. Chloe took a sideways glance ate Veronica and marvelled at what she saw. Less than half an hour ago Veronica had been a silent shivering wreak, having exhausted all of her tears. Now she was calm and composed, smiling genially at the people around her. She really was a fantastic actress. Chloe couldn't help but feel that while Veronica's composure would help them with this case, the fact that she repressed any kind of emotional response, and the fact that she was so good at it suggested far worse things for the woman's mental health. She watched as Mr Gregory turned around and noticed the two women.

"Thank you for coming down," Mr Gregory said breathlessly as he jogged over to the two women. "I just wanted to check over some details for your stay as it appears one of the junior staff has managed to misplace all of Mr Queen's details, meaning that I am going to have to re-enter them onto the system."

"Mr Gregory, are you feeling alright?" Chloe asked as she took in the man's pale face.

"Would you mind if we stepped outside," Gregory asked, his face sweating a little. "Only I'm feeling a little faint."

"Of course," Chloe agreed, and Veronica nodded, not quite ready to speak at that moment. The two women followed the hotel manager as he led the way to the main entrance. They walked through the revolving doors, and Veronica was surprised to note that it had already turned dark. Night had come early upon DC that day, it appeared. Mr Gregory walked around the building a little bit, before leaning against the wall. He doubled over, coughing and spluttering.

"Mr Gregory, is everything alright?" Chloe asked as she leant into the man, a little concerned by the hacking cough. He straightened up and grabbed hold of her arm in a crushing grip, grinning a little manically.

"Perfect," he hissed as his eyes flashed black. Veronica felt herself being grabbed from behind as two strong arms wrenched hers back into an arm lock. "So trusting, tut tut tut. The Winchester's must be slacking in their protection. Either that or they just don't care that much about you two."

Veronica watched as Chloe lashed out with an arm, her fist colliding with Gregory's face. The man looked stunned for a moment, and loosened his grip on her other arm, allowing her to wriggle free from it. Chloe reached into her jacket to draw out her gun, clicking the safety off as she aimed it at the person who was holding Veronica. She put her back to the wall, surveying the area around her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," an unfamiliar voice opined, as a man dressed in black appeared from around the corner. "Unless you are a crack sharpshooter, you could very well shoot Miss Mars, and I know that no one would be happy with that outcome. Why don't you put down the weapon Miss Sullivan?"

Veronica shook her head and was just about to shout to Chloe that she should do no such thing when her hair was pulled violently back and a knife placed at her throat. Chloe noticeably paled.

"Now, if you put the gun down Miss Sullivan and my associate will remove the knife from Miss Mars' throat. We'd hate to see such a beautiful woman cut ear to ear just because you were a little hesitant," the man said as he came into full view. Chloe placed the gun reluctantly down on the ground, and straightened up. Gregory grabbed hold of her once more, tightly pinning both of her arms to her sides. Veronica recognised the face of Fredrick Goyle from where he stood beside Chloe's captor. He appeared to be overseeing all of the other demons. His vest tee-shirt showed all of the symbols which had been carved into his skin, blazing white lines against his tanned skin. He grinned at them, his face twisted into a distorted reflection of human emotion.

"Thank you very much Gregory," Goyle said approvingly to the demon dressed in the hotel manager. The demon hissed at him as his eyes flashed black.

"You know very well what my name is," he snarled. Goyle chuckled, but otherwise ignored him.

"What do you want?" Veronica asked bravely, sticking her chin out defiantly.

"That is for us to know and for me not to reveal to you, my dear," He replied.

"Filthy demons," She spat, in an attempt to provoke him.

"Ah, my dear, but not all of us are demons," Goyle said pointedly nodding to the man holding Veronica. "They are but men who follow us in their belief in a higher purpose."

"You disgust me," Veronica spat, not as in control of her emotions as she had thought. Being confronted by the thing that Logan had become was too much for her.

"Calm down sweetheart. You'll understand soon enough." He patted her face condescendingly and turned to Gregory. "Load them into the van. I'm sure we can find a purpose for the other blonde."

As he turned his back Veronica's mind raced, trying to think of some way for them to get out of this situation.

"You will be calm, won't you ladies," Goyle said, as he walked away from them. "You won't mind if I don't stick around. I have someone rather important that I have to report to."

Veronica threw her head back, her head colliding with her captor's nose, breaking it in the process. She saw stars as he howled with pain and let go of her arms. Twisting around she kicked his chest, sending him reeling backwards from the blow. He gripped his bleeding nose, still hissing in pain, blood spilling down his face.

"You crazy bitch!" He snarled. Veronica twisted around once more, sending a kick towards his head. He fell hard to the floor, not making a noise.

She turned her back on her assailant to aid Chloe. She noted with some relief that her friend had managed to wrestle herself from the demon's grips and now had hold of her gun. She squeezed off a shot which went through the laughing demon's stomach. It did nothing to stop him from approaching Chloe. Veronica ran at the man, knocking him over in a rugby tackle. She pinned him to the ground and gestured to Chloe to hurry. Chloe began speaking the exorcism ritual that both Sam and Dean had drilled into their heads on the ride to DC, while Veronica wrestled to keep the demon in place. Suddenly black smoke poured from Gregory's mouth, and his body fell limp. Veronica rolled away from his body and climbed to her feet, while Chloe checked the man for a pulse.

"Nothing," Chloe sighed as she too stood up. "This could take some explaining."

Veronica nodded her assent and was just about to speak when her body erupted in pain, radiating around her back. She looked at Chloe's horrified face, then slowly down to the wetness she could feel pooling at her abdomen. She was surprised to see a large red stain spreading over her white shirt, and the sharp glint of silver protruding from her body. She fell to her knees and watched as Chloe rushed to her side, catching her as she fell. Objectively Veronica noticed that the assailant she had thought had been knocked out cold was fleeing down the alleyway his hands covered in what suspiciously looked like her blood.

"Veronica!" Chloe shouted, startled. Veronica tried to answer her, but all she could do was splutter faintly. She fell limply into Chloe's lap as the other blonde woman pressed on her stomach in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.

"Hurts," Veronica managed to speak. She could see tears pooling in Chloe's eyes.

"I know sweetie. We're going to get you some help," she promised as she pressed down against the wound. Veronica's eyes fluttered closed. She heard Chloe crying out to Sam and Dean, to Castiel, to anyone. Her voice was faint, as if it was far away. Veronica fought to reopen her eyes, and watched as her friend became fuzzier, as if someone was tuning out the focus of her vision. She tried to lift her arm, to speak and tell Chloe that she was going to be okay, but everything felt like goo. Then all she saw was a brilliant, warm white light.

"They've been down there a while," Dean commented from where he lounged, unmoving on the sofa. Sam looked down at his watch, his face falling as he looked at the time.

"They have," he agreed as he reached out and grabbed his phone. He typed the shortcut for Chloe's number and waited while it rang. He listened to Chloe's cheery answerphone message, before hanging up. He tried Veronica's phone, and it too went to voicemail.

"I'm sure that they're fine, probably just still meeting with the manager, he seemed to love the two of them," Dean said rolling his eyes.

"I'm just going to go down to the front desk," Sam said as he slipped on his shoes.

"Okay man," Dean said as he turned back to the TV.

Sam found it a little concerning that he two women had left the building with the manager such a long time ago, at least according to the girl on the front desk. They should have known better than to leave the heavily surveyed area with a largely unknown individual, especially after all that they had learnt in the last day. He began to feel more and more concern as he walked out of the building. He looked left and right, not seeing either of the girls or the hotel manager anywhere. He jogged around to the edge of the building, walking down into the alleyway. He gasped as he saw the two blondes.

Veronica lay still in the middle of the alleyway, her shirt and trousers saturated with blood. The deep red liquid surrounded her in a pool, too much blood for someone to survive, surely. Chloe kneeled by her side, slumped over Veronica's body. She too was covered in blood. Sam's mind went blank as he stumbled forward to fall to his knees next to the women. He grabbed hold of Chloe's shoulders and pulled her back into his body. Her eyes were closed, her face as pale as death. Her skin was cold. Her hands remained clasped to Veronica's arm. He looked down at Veronica, and saw what Chloe's body had been hiding, a gaping hole in Veronica's shirt, and a long slash along her stomach.. He pulled his phone out and pressed Dean's number.

"You need to get down to the alleyway by the side of the hotel," He spluttered emotionally as he clutched Chloe's body to him.

"Sam?" a familiar, yet weak voice whispered. He dropped his phone

Logan Mars stood in the middle of a dark, sparsely decorated room, looking calmly at all the work which was occurring around him. Workmen carried boxes and tools into an antechamber at the back of the room, whilst others typed away rapidly on computers at the front of the building, researching the next best targets to hit in order to further their plans. It was quiet and efficient, each doing their job with little sound save for their footsteps or the clicking of keys. He smiled to himself, taking it all in, as the next step in their plan was gradually falling into place. And soon his wife would return to him, and take her rightful place at his side. His smile grew wider.

The calm was shattered by the slamming of a door against the wall, as a battered and bruised minion entered the building. People were quickly alarmed as he fell to the floor in front of Logan, as if her were dead. A bored looking Fredrick Goyle entered the room after him, whistling.

"Sorry for the interruption brother," Goyle drawled. "But our friend here has some information, which I think that you may want to know."

"I take it the mission didn't go exactly as expected then," Logan raised an eyebrow at the conspicuous absence of Veronica. The man on the floor muttered something, but it was too quiet, even for Logan's enhanced senses to take in.

"I think you may want to repeat that dear boy," Logan said civilly as he poked the man with his foot. The man repeated what he said a little louder. This time Logan heard every word. His cold eyes sharpened as he took in what the man had said.

"You stabbed my wife," Logan's voice was deceptively calm as he stared at the man who lay prostrate at his feet.

"She was, I mean she almost, I was almost killed, oh blessed one," the man babbled, his forehead pressed to the ground.

"What happened to her?" Logan asked, pressing a shoe down on the back of the man's head lightly.

"When I left she was bleeding out," the thug stuttered. Logan increased the pressure.

"You better hope for the sake of your siblings that my wife has survived this," Logan maintained the calm tone of voice and he slowly pressed the man's face harder into the ground, ignoring his moans of protest. "As you won't be around to look after them anymore."

The man's hands and legs flailed as his head was pressed inexorably into the pavestones of the patio. Then there was a sickening crunch as his skull folded under the pressure. The man's body stilled. Logan lifted his foot to admire his handiwork, the crushed head on the ground.

"Someone clean this up!" he demanded. As he walked towards the back room of the house he continued to talk. "Find my wife's body. We'll have to adjust the procedure, but it should work on the recently deceased."

All of the people in the room dropped the equipment they had been moving/ handling, and jumped to attention. They all filed out of the house quickly, and efficiently. Goyle stood in the room for a few more moments, before shrugging and following Logan into the back room.


End file.
